


In Limbo

by Aceofstars16



Category: Lunar Chronicles - Marissa Meyer
Genre: F/M, Injury, Major Character Injury, Other, Winter (Lunar Chronicles) - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-02
Updated: 2018-04-02
Packaged: 2019-04-17 11:07:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,716
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14187567
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aceofstars16/pseuds/Aceofstars16
Summary: Taking place right after the climax of Winter, Kai races to find Cinder and make sure she is okay, only to find that she is far from it. A long period of waiting follows. Kind of ansty, kind of shippy, hope you enjoy!





	In Limbo

**Author's Note:**

> [Tumblr post](http://aceofstars16.tumblr.com/post/172398928208/in-limbo)

Lungs burning, heart racing, Kai ran through the palace, trying to remember where the throne room was from his limited time exploring it. He had to double back a few times when a hallway didn’t look quite right, but he was sure he was going the right way.

Then, voices. Up ahead. Despite every instinct telling him to stop, he kept running. At this point, it was more likely he would run into Lunars in the rebellion than any who would try to control him.

“-move your Lunar butts!”

Kai almost tripped as he recognized Thorne’s voice and as he turned the corner he saw his friends in the middle of the hall. Cress was on the ground, and even from here Kai could see a terrifying amount of blood on her dress. Blood covered Wolf and while Scarlet and Thorne didn’t look as bad, there was still evidence of injury on both of them. Two palace guards stood in front of Thorne, seemingly unsure of what to do.

“Kai?” Scarlet was the first one to spot Kai as he raced up.

“Where’s Cinder?”

“She’s in the-”

Her voice was cut off by a muffled gunshot.

Cinder. Kai rushed past the others, pushing away a hand that tried to stop him. Maybe it was stupid, maybe he was running to his death, but he had already come to terms with sacrificing himself for this cause. And he had to know.

Yelling and screams echoed through the hall, but Kai couldn’t focus on any of it. All he could think about was Cinder. He shoved the throne room door. It banged against the wall. Then he saw them. Blood was splattered on the wall and on the floor.

Cinder. Levana. Neither where moving.

“Cinder!” Kai had never heard his voice sound so terrified as his feet pounded on the hard floor. She couldn’t be dead, she just couldn’t.

Dropping to the floor next to her, Kai looked at the knife, sprouting from her chest. Horror squeezed the air out of his lungs. She looked so pale, so fragile. Not like the girl he had first met in the market, not the revolutionary that had rallied Luna.

“Cinder,” he said, practically begging her to reply, but her eyes weren’t focusing.

“We need a doctor RIGHT NOW!”

Kai glanced at the entrance to the room, where Scarlet now stood, and even from this distance he could see the terror etched on her face. When he glanced back at Cinder, he froze. Her eyes were shut, her skin had an unhealthy pallor to it. The world tilted off balance.

“No, Cinder. Cinder hold on please!” Kai brushed aside a strand of her hair and found his hand staying on her face.

A shallow breath hit is thumb and Kai could’ve cried from relief, but he knew time was running out. He glanced at the knife, trying to recall any information about how to deal with a situation like this. But it was useless, he wasn’t a doctor, he didn’t know how to save a life.

“Don’t. Leave it in.”

Kai glanced up at Scarlet.

“Taking it out will only make it worse.” Her gaze flickered to Cinder again, then back at Kai. “She…she’ll be okay.”

Kai wanted to believe her but the assurance in her voice was contrasted by the worry lining her face.

“Where-?” Kai could barely get one word out, fear was pressing down on him so hard it was a miracle he could even speak at all.

“To get help.” She glanced back, as if wondering if she should’ve gone as well, but Kai was glad that she had stayed. Having someone else helped ground him, tell him words he needed to hear, even if neither of them fully believed that everything would be okay.

Silence followed, and though Kai felt the pressure to say something, he couldn’t bring his tongue to speak, which might’ve been for the best. For the first time in a long time, he felt at a loss for words. As precious minutes ticked away, the terror that had overwhelmed him ebbed away into a constant, nauseating worry. At some point, his hand had wrapped around Cinder’s as if to help ground him. Her skin was clammy, but it was still warm. She was still alive, if just barely.

“Hurry!”

Kai’s head shot up as he heard Wolf’s gruff voice from the hall. Help had arrived.

“You’re going to be okay,” he said quietly to Cinder as he watched the doctors race in with a stretcher.

The next few minutes were a blur. Cinder being lifted onto the stretcher, racing down the hall, the doctors spouting jargon at each other that Kai didn’t understand hardly any of. He held Cinder’s hand the whole time, up until one of the doctors pushed him away.

“Sorry Your Highness, but only doctors are permitted in surgery rooms.”

The words echoed hollow inside Kai’s brain, but slowly they sank in and he looked at the doctor.

She took a step back at the intensity in his gaze.

“Save her.”

The doctor nodded. “We will try our best.”

And then she was gone and only then did Kai realize he was alone. At some point Wolf and Scarlet had disappeared and he could only assume they were having their own wounds treated. It seemed like he was the only one who hadn’t been hurt.

After a second, exhaustion washed over every bit of his body. He tried sitting down, but after a few seconds, he found that he couldn’t keep still. Despite his weariness, anxiety was coursing through his body and he knew it wouldn’t stop until he knew Cinder was okay.

In the back of his mind, he remembered to comm the military, to cancel the order to bomb the city, but as soon as the message was sent, he started pacing again.

Minutes ticked by, each one agonizingly slow. Kai was barely aware of Iko showing up, though he appreciated her squeezing his hand before she sat down to wait as well. Torin showed up not long after. Kai knew there must be a million things that needed to be discussed but Torin didn’t say anything and for that he was grateful. Scarlet arrived too, letting them know Wolf was fine, but he was confined to a room for the moment.

By the time Thorne showed up, Kai was sitting down – his body too tired to keep standing – though his foot continued to tap in impatience.

“Cress?” Scarlet asked before Thorne had even sat down. A cast was wrapped around his hand and he seemed a little out of it, which Kai could only assume was the effect of a painkiller.

“I…they don’t know yet…” Thorne, tapped a portscreen on his leg before glanced up at the surgery door. “Cinder?”

“No update.”

Thorne sighed and he rubbed the cast with is good hand, before giving a strained smile. “Hey, she’s Cinder. If I can survive falling out of a spaceship she can survive this.”

Kai barely registered the words, but he was grateful for the attempt at lightning the mood, though it didn’t do much for him.

Running a hand through his hair, Kai glanced up at his friends – or those well enough to be here. Circles shaded their eyes, nervous energy sparked in the air, evident by fidgeting fingers and twirling hair.

“You should all get some rest,” he said after a moment – surprised he could even talk, but concern for them seemed to give him the ability to at least articulate some form of an argument and he held up a hand before anyone could argue. “I’ll let you know the moment I hear something.”

“Nice try your Emperor-ness but I’m not going anywhere unless I hear word about Cinder or Cress.” While the nickname played at lighthearted, Thorne’s voice was deep with worry, he wasn’t even trying to cover it.

Scarlet nodded in agreement.

“I still have plenty of power, I’m not going anywhere.” Iko piped in.

For a moment, Kai tried to think of something to convince them, but all arguments fell apart. They cared about Cinder as much as he did, and no one could make him leave, so trying to change their minds was pointless. Besides, their company was welcome, even as anxiety weighed on every inch of his body.

Silence overtook them once again and time ticked by slowly. Every so often, Kai caught sight of one of them drifting off for a moment before shaking themselves awake. Kai knew he would be doing the same if he hadn’t been going off of little sleep for the past few months. The best sleep he had gotten was on the Rampion and as soon as he got back to the palace, he fell into a restless sleep schedule once again. It definitely wasn’t the best way to live, but his body seemed attuned to it now. Besides, he doubted he would be able to sleep even if he tried. He couldn’t rest until he knew how Cinder was.

Every once and a while, Iko would try to start up a conversation - which helped relieve the tension a little - but after a few minutes the conversation would die and silence would overtake them again. She had just started talking about what color dresses would look best on her when the door opened.

Kai jumped to his feet.

“How is she?”

“We’ve gotten her stable for now, but…we’ve never worked with a cyborg before, so it’s been a difficult process.”

Instantaneous relief was suppressed by more worry as the words sunk in, but before Kai could reply, Torin spoke up.

“I’ll contact a cybernetic doctor right away, Your Majesty.”

Kai cast a grateful look at his advisor before looking back at the doctor. “She’ll be okay though, right?”

A small hesitation, then a nod. “She is doing better than expected. It seems a miracle that she has pulled through, but I believe with the right…mechanical care and understanding, she will be just fine.”

There was an audible sigh of relief from everyone in the hall, and while a small knot of worry still sat in his stomach, Kai could breathe freely again. Cinder was going to be okay.


End file.
